THX 1138

1971 science fiction movie

Rating: 14/20

Plot: In a dystopian future where hair has been outlawed, Robert Duvall gets bored and decides to go watch a sunset.

It's interesting to see this work from George Lucas back when he was more interested in being like Godard than in making blockbusters. I hadn't seen this in a while, apparently before the director decided to do what George Lucas does best--fiddle-faddle with his own work. Things are still minimalistic, to me the most stunning thing about this, but there are some backgrounds than seem altered and a CGI monkey man that is just plain ugly. Reverse opening credits, a great use of sound, music that is at its best when it clashes with what is going on visually, a languid pace, a climactic car chase that shows off editing chops. Watching this in the early-70s, I'd imagine that people could see a revolutionary mind behind it all. Watching it in a post-Jar-Jar world, it's like this fascinating artifact that shouldn't even exist. I mean, what in this thing really foreshadows the Star Wars saga? Here, Lucas's is thematically subtle, and special effects are really kept to a minimum. The plot's half asleep, and most of the movie feels extraneous. Nothing about the movie really seems like it was made for an audience at all. Like a movie called THX 1138 is going to find an audience. Of course, there are those metal-faced policeman things that do, especially with the way they talk, kind of remind me of Stormtroopers. And there's something about the world-building here, how it all starts in medias res, that reminds me a little of A New Hope where it just jumps right into things and expects you to catch up as it goes along. There's less moisture farming in this one though. I'm not even sure this movie has moisture. It has a lot of bald heads though. The obvious connection there is Lobot:

There's also this perverse angle to this that makes you want to pay attention more--mentions of sexual misconduct and libido levelers, nude dancing bald African American women and the use of masturbation machines. Seriously, this movie has a masturbation machine. For whatever reason, it's hard for me to believe that this is even Robert Duvall in this movie even when he's on the screen right in front of my eyes. It's also got favorites Sid Haig and Donald Pleasence, the latter who has a great scene where he reacts to watching a pair of people doing it. The whole thing adds up to something that, for large chunks, is a little boring and won't appeal to a whole lot of people. But for fans of Star Wars and George Lucas, it's really fascinating to see where it all started.